SS CH12

The blade edge deftly sliced through skin and flesh, yet did not injure the tendons and bones. However, Ye Fusheng did not dare to move rashly. He could only carefully pinch the blade’s edge, fearing that even a light swipe would slice his fingers right off.

The blade edge between his fingers trembled, and Ye Fusheng immediately let go. Xie Wuyi returned his saber to its scabbard. He looked at Ye Fusheng, feeling somewhat deeply moved: “In the forbidden grounds, I already suspected that your finger strike was “Jinglei”.’ It’s just that the Jinghong Dao has vanished without a trace for a full ten years; I had no choice but to test it with a strike to verify… Heh, truly an autumn of many troubles.”

Ye Fusheng said with shame, “The glory belongs to the seniors of my sect; this junior dares not falsely claim it.”

Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battleaxes, hooks, and forks—the wugong in the Jianghu were of all varieties, and the weapons were just as bizarre and myriad. Some random nobodies with just a bit of skill dared to give themselves all sorts of chaotic titles, but those truly praised by others were incredibly few. Looking across the past hundred years, figures who could make the entire Jianghu bow their heads in submission could be counted on one’s fingers. They were like Mount Tai or the Big Dipper pressing above everyone’s heads, engraved with immortal names.

—One sword pierces the clouds to part heaven and earth; three sabers divide the streams to settle the universe. East and West, Buddhism and Daoism vie for superiority; North and South, Confucian scholars and wandering knights debate over who is higher.

Among these, the “three sabers” referred to the three saber masters: Duanshui (Water-Severing), Wanyue (Moon-Drawing), and Jinghong (Startled Swan). They emerged successively over this century, in the order of Wanyue first, Jinghong second, and Duanshui last. However, the Wanyue lineage was only passed down to women and gradually declined; Jinghong was exactly like its name, a short-lived flash in the pan. To this day, only Duanshui still stood tall in the world.

Unfortunately, beautiful women will eventually grow old, and heroes will ultimately reach the end of their road.

By answering this way, Ye Fusheng admitted that he was the Jinghong Dao Master of this generation.

Xie Wuyi said, “Your use of this move, ‘Plucking the Flower’, was excellent. Just now, if you had the Jinghong Dao in hand, and supplemented it with ‘Baihong‘ (White Rainbow) to slash at my left arm, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to withdraw my strike so easily.”

Ye Fusheng found a dry cloth to wipe the blood off his hand, smiling bitterly: “This lowly one came to resolve doubts, not to forge enmities.”

The coldness on Xie Wuyi’s face slightly receded. Ye Fusheng raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and said, “Stories are divided into two types. One is the fabricated idle chatter created by others for entertainment; the other is something that actually happened in the past. In the Manor Master‘s opinion, which type is this ‘story’ told by Madam Rong?”

Xie Wuyi asked him in return, “Are these the doubts you wish to resolve?”

Ye Fusheng touched his nose, only to hear Xie Wuyi let out a laugh. This laugh did not carry his usual coldness; it only held thick mockery: “I see. What you want to know most should be… how could there be two Xie Wuyis in this world? The person standing in front of you—is he the Duanshui Manor Master or not? And the person who entrusted the jade pendant to you—who exactly was he?”

Ye Fusheng slowly exhaled a breath, cupped his fists in salute, and apologized, “Indeed, that is the case. It is this lowly one who acted presumptuously and offended the Manor Master. If this matter is of grave importance, the Manor Master need not put yourself in a difficult position. I will definitely not bother you again in this life.”

Xie Wuyi said, “I only want to know, why would you risk offending Duanshui Manor for an unrelated matter?”

“The grace of a drop of water is repaid with a surging spring, let alone…” Ye Fusheng lowered his hands and smiled bitterly. “Let alone, the grace of saving my life.”

“He saved you?”

“If it weren’t for that, he originally wouldn’t have had to die.”

The candlelight flickered, stretching both of their shadows very long. Xie Wuyi remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, he waved his sleeve, closing the half-open window that had been blown ajar by the night wind.

“What Rong Cui said is indeed a ‘story’ that happened in the past. I am Xie Min, and so was he.” Xie Wuyi picked up the teapot. Because he was taking medication, there was no good tea inside, only warm, plain water.

A stream of warm water filled half the cup. Ye Fusheng took it and drank the tasteless liquid, holding his breath and focusing his attention to listen to him speak.

“I left home when I was young, wandering destitute with my mother in the Western Regions for many years. Even though I later had Rong Cui by my side, regarding this person ‘father’, I remained ignorant and bewildered. I resented him for not looking after us for fourteen years, yet couldn’t help but recall his consideration towards my mother and me in my childhood memories. Thus, thirteen years ago, after I avenged my mother, he finally sent someone to deliver a letter, asking me to bring my mother’s ashes back home. I agreed with almost no hesitation. From the Western Regions to the Central Plains, I met several Jianghu people on the road who had old ties with him. They all said that the Duanshui Manor Master, Xie Zhongshan, had a worthy successor. I was happy to hear it, but dared not lift my cloak and mask, terrified they would discover that the Young Manor Master of Duanshui Manor was actually a monster covered in venomous sores. So much so that when I saw him at the foot of the manor, I felt both a sense of strangeness and a rare sense of fear.”

The so-called ‘timidity upon nearing one’s hometown’ was likely due not only to years of separation, but even more so to the fear that things remained while people had changed.

“I had many things I wanted to ask him, and so did he. So I had Rong Cui go rest in the guest room, while I drank wine with him for half the night. Facing my mother’s ashes, he shed sorrowful tears and spoke to me with gentle concern, making me instantly unsure of what to do with the years of accumulated resentment in my heart… I originally thought that people always change, that he must be regretting his heartlessness from back then, and that I should also learn to step out of the past. Therefore, I agreed to his request and took off my mask and cloak, revealing those hideous sores that disgusted even myself…”

“At that moment, a gleam flashed in his eyes. I thought it was tears; only later did I realize… it was absolute resolution.”

Speaking up to here, Xie Wuyi slowly took a sip of clear water, and his face, which had just softened slightly, froze over again.

He stared at his own reflection in the teacup, as if seeing another version of himself through the glimmering surface of the water. Then, he let out a mocking laugh.

“He took me into the forbidden grounds beneath Wanghaichao, saying he had to tell me a secret matter of grave importance concerning the survival of the manor. I followed him, only to see a person there. He looked a bit like me, but even more like him when he was young. I immediately guessed who that person was—when my mother was alive, she mentioned more than once that if I hadn’t been born, my father would have definitely turned against her because of a shameless prostitute who was secretly pregnant with his child.” Xie Wuyi huffed. “That person was the bastard child my father had with that prostitute! When my mother was around, she ruined that slut’s face, and my father promised never to see her again. But to think that in the second year after my mother took me to the Western Regions, he actually brought this bastard child back.”

Seeing that the son his wife left behind was afflicted with a venomous illness, even if they went to the Western Regions to seek medicine, who knew if it would be ineffective?

Thus, Xie Zhongshan remembered that disfigured prostitute, and remembered that child who should already be eight years old.

Because the Poison Chief had a violent temper, she made quite a scene when she left Duanshui Manor. All his Jianghu friends knew that Xie Zhongshan’s wife and son had gone to the Western Regions. Therefore, he couldn’t blatantly launch a massive search for an illegitimate son. He could only send his trusted aides to secretly investigate. Finally, he got word—that disfigured prostitute had died while giving birth, leaving behind only a son living as a beggar in Guyang City. He had no name or surname; the other beggars just called him “Gou’er” (Doggy).

He found the child and discovered that Gou’er’s martial root bone was no inferior to Xie Min’s. Overjoyed, he brought him back to Duanshui Manor. To conceal him from the eyes and ears of others, he had the child live year-round in the forbidden grounds of Wanghaichao. Every night, he personally went to teach him. Whether studying literature or practicing martial arts, the child’s comprehension was extraordinary.

A lowly name like “Gou’er” was discarded early on, but Xie Zhongshan didn’t give him a proper name either, terrified that the slightest mistake would let an illegitimate son disgrace his reputation. Thus, that child was secretly raised by him without a name or surname, all the way until Xie Min returned from the Western Regions.

Eighty-two battles in the Western Regions stunning the Jianghu, the Canglan Shisan Dao (Thirteen Sabers of the Deep Blue Billows) possessing unique marvels—a son like that was the successor in Xie Zhongshan’s heart; that was the next Manor Master of Duanshui Manor.

He was wild with joy, but was quickly drenched head-to-toe with cold water.

Xie Min’s martial arts were accomplished, his name shook the Jianghu, but alas, his entire body was covered in wounds and the venomous root was unpurged. Not only was it difficult for him to face people, but he couldn’t even bear the heavy responsibility of producing offspring. Otherwise, even if he united with a woman, he would only sire a freak just like him.

However, news of the Young Manor Master of Duanshui Manor, Xie Min, returning home had already spread throughout the Jianghu. The Martial Arts Saber and Sword Assembly had also sent an invitation. The eyes of the masses were watching closely.

Xie Zhongshan could only endure the pain and make a choice—he knocked Xie Min unconscious, imprisoned him beneath Wanghaichao, and allowed the illegitimate son he had meticulously taught for fourteen years to see the light of day.

Even though he didn’t know the Canglan Shisan Dao, he had been painstakingly taught by Xie Zhongshan for fourteen years and deeply grasped the essence of the Duanshui Daofa; he was by no means inferior.

Xie Zhongshan said, “From now on, you are Xie Min.”

Because aside from him and Rong Cui, no one had seen Xie Min’s true face. The nameless, surnameless illegitimate son thus became the perfectly legitimate Young Manor Master. Especially after he defeated all the heroes at the Martial Arts Saber and Sword Assembly, no one could ever change this fact again.

“Back then, Rong Cui and I were inseparable. Many people in the Jianghu knew of her existence, so Xie Zhongshan didn’t kill her to silence her. Instead, he used my life to threaten her into staying by his side as a front, making her responsible for delivering my daily supplies. She was beautiful and had a straightforward temperament, and gradually won the affection of the other ‘Xie Min’. She told me to wait patiently, that she would definitely find an opportunity to save me.” Xie Wuyi gave a mocking smile. “Xie Zhongshan at least cared a bit for our father-son relationship and didn’t cripple my wugong. He only set up heavy traps and mechanisms making it difficult for me to escape. Who knows if it was because of a guilty conscience, but from that night onward, he never came down to look at me again. Filled with hatred, I cultivated bitterly day and night in that tiny square of space, hoping only to escape one day and make him and that imposter who replaced me regret everything!”

Ye Fusheng frowned, and heard Xie Wuyi continue: “By my eighth year of imprisonment, Rong Cui gradually stopped coming too. The person delivering my meals became a deaf-mute servant. I was terrified that she was being suspected and made things difficult for, restless day and night, constantly wandering around the forbidden grounds. The exit was guarded by Xie Zhongshan’s trusted aides. Daring not to alert them, I had to find another way out. Finally, deep inside the forbidden grounds, I discovered a passage blocked by a Severed Dragon Stone. So I used blades and swords to dig at it, day after day. It took two years before I finally dug a path out.”

So that was where those deep gouges in the forbidden grounds came from.

Ye Fusheng mentally connected the chaotic timeline and events. This man was thirty-four years old this year. He was imprisoned beneath Wanghaichao at the age of twenty-one and escaped ten years later—which was exactly three years ago!

—Three years ago, a swordsman from the Western Regions challenged the Duanshui Manor Master at Lingyun Peak. In the end, they both plunged off a high cliff; one was injured, the other went missing.

A shocking thunder exploded in his mind, leaving it buzzing.

Xie Wuyi’s expression was somewhat absent-minded: “When I escaped the forbidden grounds, it was night. Relying on my wugong, I sneaked into the manor to find Rong Cui. She was in the courtyard practicing her whip techniques; there were no outsiders around. Seeing me, she was incredibly shocked, but her eyes held a complex, unspeakable emotion. At that time, I couldn’t read the feelings in her eyes. I only asked if she was well, urging her to hurry up and leave with me. In the end, before she even had a chance to speak, Xie Zhongshan and that man arrived… The moment he appeared, Rong Cui wrenched her hand free from mine.”

Ye Fusheng’s heart skipped a beat.

Xie Wuyi mocked himself, “It turns out she wasn’t being suspected or made things difficult for. She simply didn’t want to—and didn’t dare to—come see me anymore… She married the man who replaced me. She bore him a son named ‘A’Li’. Their family of three lived happily in perfect harmony. How could she possibly want me coming out to ruin everything?”

Ten years could separate the living and the dead into vast emptiness, and it could also change a human heart.

His entire body was covered in venomous sores, carrying a heavy, chronic illness, making it fundamentally difficult for him to face anyone. Rong Cui caring for him all those years was out of affection; abandoning him was only human nature.

Let alone the fact that the man who shared his name and surname, the man who occupied his identity, was gentle as jade and accomplished in both literature and martial arts. What woman in this world wouldn’t like him?

He had finally lost everything, including his name and his last remaining family.

Ye Fusheng refilled his cup with water, saying slowly, “And so, you proposed the duel at Lingyun Peak.”

Xie Wuyi asked in return, “Snatching back everything that should have rightfully belonged to me—is that not right?”

Ye Fusheng shook his head. “It is human nature, giving no cause for criticism. However, I heard that an accident occurred during the battle at Lingyun Peak. Rumors in the Jianghu claim that you used a venomous plot to sneak attack him.”

“I haven’t stooped so low, and neither had he.” Xie Wuyi took a sip of water. “I had the Canglan Shisan Dao to rely on, and had trained bitterly beneath Wanghaichao for ten years. I thought victory was absolutely assured, but I didn’t expect him to be useless either.”

Ye Fusheng: “The Duanshui Daofa is broad and profound. He received a good master’s guidance from a young age, possessed outstanding natural talent, and studied and trained diligently. Combined with seizing first place in one fell swoop at the Saber and Sword Assembly ten years ago, he has faced continuous challenges over these years. Naturally, he wouldn’t be inferior to you.”

“That’s right. That was supposed to be a battle between evenly matched opponents. Who lived and who died, I’m afraid only heaven would know.” Xie Wuyi set down the teacup. “Because of this, someone grew anxious.”

One was unwilling to lose the most perfect successor and thereby shake the foundation of Duanshui, while the other was unwilling to lose the man she loved most and have her son lose his father.

“He and I fought until both of us were heavily injured. Originally, neither of us could do anything to the other. However, Rong Cui had secretly smeared poison on the Duanshui Dao beforehand. That poison was colorless and odorless, but it countered the ‘Bairi Ying‘ (Hundred-Day Poppy), triggering the accumulated venom in my body. Thus, after over a hundred exchanges, my venomous illness flared up, and I showed signs of defeat.”

Ye Fusheng sighed, “A woman’s heart, indeed, leans to one side.”

“The only person who knew my weakness was Rong Cui. Therefore, upon discovering how utterly heartless she was, I was filled with a mix of shock and rage. I turned around and slashed my saber straight at Rong Cui outside the battle circle.” Xie Wuyi’s gaze grew profound and dark. “He was a good husband, though. Instead of taking the opportunity to kill me, he went to save Rong Cui’s life. So, I simply changed my move mid-way, severing the tendons in his right hand with a single slash.”

Ye Fusheng let out an “Ah.” Xie Wuyi said, “In that moment, both Rong Cui and Xie Zhongshan were dumbstruck. I coughed up blood while laughing, asking Xie Zhongshan, ‘Now that his hand is crippled, will you still continue to support him?’ Xie Zhongshan’s face looked incredibly ugly. I asked again, ‘A venomous illness might have a cure, but the hand tendons were severed completely by my blade. Even if the Gui Yi came in person, they cannot be reconnected. You’d better think carefully.'”

Ye Fusheng said, “The fengshui rotates; one karma repays another.”

“Yes. A man like Xie Zhongshan never valued feelings; he only cared about himself and the interests of Duanshui Manor.” Xie Wuyi mockingly curled the corners of his mouth. “There can only be one Xie Min in this world. So, after hearing my two sentences, Xie Zhongshan cleanly and decisively drew his blade. He wanted to personally chop down the weeds and dig up the roots of this formerly perfect successor. I felt incredibly satisfied at that moment, but alas, extreme joy begets sorrow. I was unexpectedly grabbed by that fellow with one hand, and together we plummeted off Lingyun Peak.”

“The terrain of Lingyun Peak is rugged, with a deep valley below. The two of us plunged down together. If it weren’t for the vegetation breaking our fall, I’m afraid we would have died without a burial place. When I woke up, I found myself lying in a cave, with him sitting not far away from me.” Speaking up to here, Xie Wuyi suddenly chuckled. “Come to think of it, he and I were fishbones stuck in each other’s throats for ten years, yet counting properly, this was only our third time meeting. I subconsciously reached to feel for my saber, but unfortunately, I had long since lost track of where it dropped. Instead, he hobbled over using the Duanshui Dao as a crutch and handed me two wild fruits, saying, ‘Make do and eat a bit first; starving to death down here wouldn’t be worth it.'”

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